Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to camera rigs. More specifically, the present invention relates to a camera rig for holding and operating multiple smartphone-based cameras in recording and interactive modes
Related Art
Camera rigs for motion pictures are known in the art, typically comprising a tripod or similar support with a pan and tilt head on which a motion picture camera is installed. Conventional camera rigs generally accommodate only a single motion picture camera. For effect shots in which the same event is to be shown from different angles, it is common to use two, three or more cameras, all recording footage at the same time. A problem occurs when these multiple different views of the same event are desired from a single perspective at substantially the same location.
To solve this problem, custom rigs have been designed, typically having multiple heads onto which two or more cameras can be mounted. Due to the size of conventional motion picture cameras, these apparatus are typically unwieldy and incapable of capturing close-up action. They are also expensive due to their frequently custom-designed nature, and thus are suitable for only a limited number of camera setups. With the advent of professional quality cameras on modern smartphones, some of these size considerations have been minimized.
With the ongoing evolution of smartphone technology, and ever increasing use of smartphones by the general public, it is increasingly common for motion pictures and other filmed entertainment to show representations of characters interacting with smartphones, or interacting with other characters through smartphones. While screen capture technology enables a video recording of a smartphone interactive screen as a character interacts with it, a problem persists in that cutting between the smartphone user, the smartphone screen, and the user's (or smartphone camera) field of view is complicated to film, and virtually impossible to record simultaneously in real time.
Hence, what is needed is a camera rig that holds multiple smartphone-based cameras for recording multiple perspectives, including the interactive touch screen of a smartphone, in order to create simultaneous streams of footage that can be edited into a single stream of footage, cutting between these views without the limitations of existing techniques.